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How to create a graphic post for your Facebook page?

Let’s pretend you want to publish a call out for newsletter subscribers on your Facebook page. Maybe you don’t have any time or no graphic skills, but still want to make a visual impact. We have you covered: with Canva, you can easily create a professional looking design.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to:

Pick an existing (free) design,

Amend it to fit your brand identity,

Save it on your computer or mobile device.

Before you start:

First, figure out the text you want to display in your post. This will help you to select the right design.

1 – Go to Canva

You’ll need to create an account, but now worries: this is free. Note that you can also log in with your Facebook or Google account.

2 – Select a type of design

On the first page, click on “Facebook post”. It will set up a template that has just the right dimensions for Facebook.

3 – Pick a design

You can now chose between many designs. The free ones show a little “Free” label in the bottom right corner. To make up your mind, think about how your message would fit in the design. Remember: you’ll be able to edit the text and modify the colours. If this is your first try, I advise you select a design as simple as possible.

On the left hand side of the page, scroll down until you find the one. Click on the design and you will see it appear on the right hand side of the page, ready for you!

4 – Pro tips: how Canva works

Here is what you need to know before we go any further:

Selecting items

Clicking on an item (text or graphic) will select it. For each one you will see the relevant toolbar appearing in top navigation bar.

Saving your work

On Canva, you don’t need to save your work. It automatically saves quite frequently, so hooray for peace of mind!

In case of mistake

There is a “undo” functionality. It is available in the very top navigation bar (blue background), on the left hand side, quite close to the Canva logo.

5 – Modify the text

Double click on the bit of text you wish to change. It will show as selected, you can now type your own text. The new text will replace your selection.

6 – Change the background colour

This is done in 4 steps:

1 – Click on the background,

2 – Click on the colour square in the top toolbar,

3 – Click on the “+” sign,

4 – Click and drag the colour picking dot around until your design displays the right colour.

To close the colour picking tools, just click anywhere outside of the design, on the grey background. You’re done with the background!

7 – Move, resize and rotate

Click on the item you want to resize, rotate or move around.

To move it, point your mouse on the dashed outline until a cross appear. Then click and drag until the item final destination.

To resize it, click and drag to dot appearing at each corner.

To rotate it, click and drag the circle arrow showing at the bottom of the selected item.

8 – Retrieve the final image

Are you done and happy with your design? As it is saved as you go, all you need to do now is to download the file.

A click on the “Download” button in the toolbar at the top of the page will open a dialog box.

First, you need to pick your file type using the drop down menu. Pick JPG or PNG, these are the two formats used for images.

Then click on “Download” and the file will be saved on your mobile device or computer. You see a dialog box offering to share the image on social media but this is not mandatory: you can just click the “x” in the top right corner to close the box.

Hot tips, to go further:

To change the text colour, click on the bit you want to modify, you’ll see a colour square appearing in the top toolbar. Select the colour just the same way you did for your background.

This also works with some icons or graphic items colours (like the leaves in our design). If you click on them, the colour picking tool will appear in the top toolbar.

You can change the font face too! Click on the text block. In the top toolbar, you will see the current font name at the very left. Click on it to pick a new one.

Here, you have it. Now you know how to edit a Canva design to add your own text and colours. And it took no time, did it? Canva offers many more options like importing your own images or adding many graphic details. So play around: Canva is quite easy to get into. And remember that if you ever need help, you can ask Canva.